Najib advises BN component members not to betray parties

KUALA KANGSAR: Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak today urged the members of all BN component parties not to betray their parties in the 14th general election, polling for which is on May 9.
He said they should instead work hard to garner a bigger mandate for the coalition.
"Let there be no one who gets annoyed. Let there be no one who betrays our party. We must look forward. However angry one might be, even if one dislikes the prime minister, it does not matter, but do not destroy our beloved party. So long as there is a party, we can continue with our struggle.
Umno was a sacred party which had served every member well, including a prime minister who had served for 22 years, he said, in an apparent reference to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"He (Mahathir) was not strong. I am also not strong. He was strong because of Umno. He cannot betray Umno. It has served him and his children well.
"It was the struggle of Umno and BN that had safeguarded him (Mahathir) all this while. Now, he wants to destroy the party that has served him well. I cannot accept that," he said at a meet-the-people session at Dewan Jubli Perak here.
Najib said the 14th general election on May 9 would determine the future direction of the country.
"This is not a personal matter. It is not a question of who is the electoral candidate. Think about the future of our children and grandchildren. Let's not have history repeat itself. Do not let Perak fall into opposition hands," he said.
The opposition PAS-PKR-DAP pact had administered Perak for 11 months in 2008.
Najib also said that the opposition, especially the DAP, which upheld democracy had, in fact, failed to adhere to the principle.
Citing an example, he said the DAP did not retain Dr Tan Seng Giaw as a candidate for the Kepong parliamentary seat in the coming general election because he spoke the truth and went against the wishes of the party leaders.
"He spoke the truth and was dropped as a candidate. He (Tan) had said after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) looked into the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) issue that there was nothing to show that the prime minister had committed any wrong. So, he was dropped.
"No one can oppose the wishes of the top leader … where is there democracy in the party?" he said.
Najib pledged to work tirelessly with his team to ensure that Malaysia became a great country.
"We already have plans, including the MRT, LRT, High-Speed Rail (HSR), a new airport, and there are huge investments as well. We have to win big and get the mandate.
"People say that if the BN wins, everything will go up. When the (number of) votes go up, the stock market will rise, the currency (value) will also rise," he said. — Bernama